Kelvin Fletcher and his family have faced farm fires, animal deaths and storm damage over the past year
Joe Crutchley Screen Time reporter and Chloe Dobinson Digital Production Editor
08:30, 29 Mar 2026
Kelvin is a firm favourite thanks to his ITV show Fletcher’s Family Farm(Image: ITV)
Kelvin Fletcher is a firm favourite on television but the TV star and his family have endured a turbulent year. The actor rose to prominence when he joined Emmerdale as Andy Sugden in 1996.
After his departure in 2016, he traded city life for the countryside when he and his wife Liz took on a 120-acre farm in the Peak District. The couple – who are parents to four children – allowed cameras to document their farming journey on their popular ITV show Fletcher’s Family Farm.
However, the past 12 months have undoubtedly been an incredibly difficult period for the family: from a heartbreaking bereavement to a devastating blaze. Here, we take a closer look at Kelvin’s rollercoaster year, reports the Mirror.
Kelvin and Liz are parents to four children and document their life on the farm(Image: ITV)
Kelvin and Liz’s farm fire
In 2025, the Fletcher family were forced to flee their farm following a catastrophic fire. At the time, Kelvin and Liz were enjoying a break with their children away from their 120-acre farm in Wincle, just over the Staffordshire border in Cheshire, when they received a distressing call from a neighbour about the fire.
The blaze left their home uninhabitable, leaving them temporarily homeless and scrambling to find emergency accommodation. Speaking candidly about the harsh reality of dealing with the aftermath, Liz revealed: “These things, dealing with the fire, it takes so much longer than you can ever imagine.
“It’s a full-time job trying to go through the whole process, the surveys, everything that needs to be done. As well as then, we haven’t even started the point of clearing the house out and actually making a start on that building work.
“So this just feels, although it’s temporary, feels like it will help us make those steps a bit more efficiently, a bit more not having to be in two places at the same time.”
Meanwhile on their programme, Liz and Kelvin appeared visibly emotional as they sifted through their damaged belongings, deciding what to salvage and what to discard. Kelvin revealed he felt “so detached” and “lost his connection” to the house since it was destroyed. Nevertheless, more than a year after the fire broke out, the family made their return to their cherished farm.
Heartbreaking farm death
The couple have had a turbulent 12 months on the farm(Image: ITV)
In an episode of Fletchers’ Family Farm from this month, Kelvin made the devastating discovery that his beloved cow Ruby had died unexpectedly.
He shared: “As the sun fades on our evening rounds, Josh and I are confronted by a sign no farmer ever wants to see. Our much-loved cow Cherry is lying motionless on her side.”
The reality soon sets in that Kelvin’s cow had sadly passed away, leaving her six-month-old calf, Ezra, without his mum. A visibly distressed Kelvin said: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking. I’ve no idea at all about what’s caused it. I’m just surprised how shocking it is, to be honest, I’m just having a bit of shock.” The former soap star revealed he had already contacted the vet, Hugo, so Cherry could be collected and they could discover how she died through a post-mortem examination.
This isn’t the first devastating farewell the Fletchers have encountered on the 2025 series, having also said goodbye to their cow, Sonic. Sharing the poignant moment, Kelvin explained: “The day has arrived to say goodbye to our first ever calf, Sonic, who’s heading off on his final journey.
“This morning, we’re taking Sonic to, well, there’s no best way to say, I guess, to slaughter really. Sonic is going. So, yeah, bittersweet, really. It’s a bit of a weird one.”
Liz’s ‘homeless’ fears
In a recent episode of Fletchers’ Family Farm, Kelvin and Liz were dealt yet another setback when a severe storm hit. Liz appeared visibly distressed as she spoke openly about the prospect of being made homeless once more.
As the pair surveyed the damage, Liz said, in shock: “Gosh, it’s hard to believe that the wind can blow that down, isn’t it?” Reflecting on a tree that had fallen perilously close to their family home, Kelvin said: “Well, we’re very lucky, because another 10 feet would have been in the lodge.
“We would have been homeless again,” Liz replied. “We’ve had every element now. We’ve had fire, floods, and now the wind has just missed the lodge, which must mean that our luck is finally on the way up. I don’t know what has gone on this year, but we’ve definitely been put to the test.”
